The Irish Legend

Off of Archer Avenue in Willow Springs, right across the street from the Willowbrook Ballroom sits an old building now known as The Irish Legend. But the legends here are more than just Irish as this particular location is known for more than just being a bar and restaurant.

Before I go over the restaurant in its current incarnation, I should probably touch on the history of the building itself. The building was said to be owned by the Capone gang in the 1920s and was used as a speakeasy and a brothel. They had actually built tunnels that went under the street to the ballroom (at the time called the O'Henry Ballroom) to sneak patrons in and out of the building without being seen by any law enforcement that might be nearby. These tunnels were also apparently used for transporting bodies out to the woods located behind the building. In the dozen or so years since I first visited this place it's been a variety of restaurants. When I first was here it was Cavallones West Pizza, after that it was closed for a while and became Rico D's Pizzaeria, then it was called Frankie's Roadhouse, then the Stag's Head and now it's the Irish Legend.

The other interesting note about this building is that it's apparently haunted, under several of its previous incarnation various paranormal tours (usually around Halloween) have been given out of the building and its history. The building was even featured a few years back on an A&E ghost hunters style show called "Paranormal Cops". While these tours don't seem to be offered under its current ownership it's quite a popular destination for folks looking to visit a spooky eatery in Chicagoland.

As far as the establishment itself, Irish Legend is an Irish Bar and Grill style eatery. It now has more of a sports bar feel to it, complete with a loud Juke box style system pumping in pop music. There isn't a whole lot of space to eat on the inside, and lots of people seem to opt to eat outside on the patio.

Shortly after walking in we were seated and looked over the menu. I decided to go for the Macaroni and Cheese as my entree. My order was placed and within about 10 minutes my food was ready.  The Mac and Cheese I received came with much thicker than normal noodles, I wouldn't say these noodles are actually macaroni but some other type of pasta. The mac and cheese was tasty, and had little bits of bacon to add some extra flavor. It was quite a bit of food overall. I was very happy with the food and even more pleased with my service as I got constant quick drink refills from the very attentive waitress.

Overall I was pleased with my visit to The Irish Legend, and plan to return again at some point. I'm going to give it four stars. An interesting location, with good food, good service at a fair price.

We stopped in here before we went across the street to the Willowbrook Ballroom for the Tuesday Country dance.  I have to say we were unimpressed with the barmaids.  We sat at the bar, but I guess since we weren't regulars we really weren't that important.  It wasn't busy and the rest sitting at the bar seemed to know the barmaids, so they all got good service and conversation.  We got acknowledged when we flagged her down between chatting with her regulars.

I've only been here once. We sat at the bar, as a fresh 21 year old when we came, the bartender spoiled me...and that's all I really remember. It was a fantastic night!
Just a warning : probably not a typical experience. It was dead when we came. I can't understand why. It's a cool place!